Kamran Mirrafati

Kamran Mirrafati is a partner and litigation lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP and a member of the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice. For over 15 years, Kamran Mirrafati has helped management avoid or quickly remove the distractions caused by employee disputes so they can focus on their key business objectives.

Kamran has defended employers in a wide range of employment litigation and arbitration matters involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, leaves of absence, breaches of contract, and wage and hour class actions. Kamran’s practice also incorporates a strong traditional labor proficiency which includes labor arbitrations, unfair labor practice charges, and union election proceedings before the NLRB.

Kamran regularly provides practical legal advice on human resource issues in order to achieve management goals, while still minimizing risk. He counsels on a wide range of employment issues including personnel policies, wage & hour compliance, leaves of absence, terminations/layoffs, and employment agreements. He also frequently serves as the chief negotiator for management in collective bargaining matters, and advises management on broad ranges of labor issues such as union avoidance, union strikes/picketing, facility closures, and contract interpretation.

Furthermore, Kamran has a deep understanding and extensive experience serving employers in the energy and hospitality industries. He also regularly represents employers in other industries such as real estate, manufacturing, retail, finance, and health care.

Representative Experience

• Represented various clients (including hospitality, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, and telecommunications companies) in numerous labor arbitrations involving employee discipline — successfully upheld over 50 suspensions and/or terminations
• Represented various clients (including hospitality, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, and telecommunications companies) in numerous unfair labor practice charges on a wide range of issues — obtained dismissals or withdrawals in over 75 charges
• Represented a hotel in a kitchen-sink wrongful termination, sexual harassment, gender/disability discrimination, and retaliation claim — obtained summary adjudication of all key claims
• Represented an energy company in a mass action involving over 25 individual arbitrations regarding bonus pay — implemented a unique defense strategy which favorably resolved all of the matters
• Represented a commercial cleaning company in an independent contractor misclassification action — successfully defeated class certification and favorably resolved the individual claims
• Represented a telecommunications company in a contract interpretation arbitration involving millions of dollars in holiday pay — obtained a dismissal of the grievance
• Represented a telecommunications company in a contract interpretation arbitration involving the subcontracting of hundreds of bargaining unit employees — obtained a dismissal of the grievance
• Represented a telecommunications company in a wrongful retaliatory discharge action — prevailed on summary judgment
• Represented a staffing company in a sex discrimination action — prevailed on summary judgment
• Represented a pharmaceutical company in pregnancy discrimination action — prevailed on summary judgment
• Represented a pharmaceutical company against four wage and hour class actions — prevailed on summary judgment
• Represented a restaurant chain against a class certification of 45,000 employees — preemptively defeated class certification

Thought Leadership

Kamran frequently writes and speaks about labor and employment issues in a number of articles and blogs, many of which are described in detail below within Insights. Kamran has also contributed to a number of treatises including Chapter 33 of California Labor Law Digest, entitled “Labor Relations In Private Employment,” (California Chamber of Commerce 2014); and Chapter 6 of Advising Employers and Employees entitled, “Vacations and Medical Leave, and Other Time Off,” (Continuing Education of the Bar, 2012).

Recognition

Kamran has been selected for inclusion in the Southern California Super Lawyers® – Rising Stars (2013–2019) and the Northern California Super Lawyers® – Rising Stars (2015) lists.

Education

• UCLA School of Law (J.D., 2004)
  • Editor, UCLA Law Review
• UCLA (B.S., 2001)

Admissions

• California

Languages

Kamran is conversant in Farsi and basic Spanish.